Pierre Gassendi

Pierre Gassendi, born Pierre Gassend on 22 January 1592 and died on 24 October 1655, was a French philosopher, Catholic priest, astronomer and mathematician. Born at Champtercier near Digne, he became professor of philosophy at the University of Aix-en-Provence at the age of 24 and later held a church position in south-east France while spending much time in Paris, where he led a group of free-thinking intellectuals. As an observational scientist he published the first data on the transit of Mercury in 1631. In philosophy he sought a path between skepticism and dogmatism, clashed with Descartes over the possibility of certain knowledge, and tried to reconcile Epicurean atomism with Christianity. The lunar crater Gassendi is named after him.